By Ron Smith
May 18, 2022
 
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) It was the biggest win in Westmont Baseball history.
 
Playing in the championship game of NAIA Opening Round Santa Barbara Bracket, the Warriors (45-11) shutout the Pioneers of Antelope Valley (39-13) by a score of 12-0, earning their first trip to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho.
 
"Today felt like the culmination of 13 years of hard work and dedication to a bigger purpose," said Westmont head coach Robert Ruiz of winning the tournament. "This is a milestone that we have talked about for a long time. It really goes beyond 13 years. There are alumni that played for Coach (John) Kirkgard and Coach (Jake Schmandt) that were here at the game or were reaching out to me."
 
Ruiz has received dozens of text messages, emails and phone calls from what he calls the 'Westmont Baseball Family' – former coaches, players and their families.
 
"I want to extend my gratitude to the greater Westmont Baseball family," said Ruiz. "This accomplishment is for that entire group. This year's team earned it, but this team and this coaching staff understand that the victory is for the Westmont Baseball family. We are so glad to take us to this next step. I am so proud of this group and glad that our alumni are a part of it."
 
The game started with an eight-run first inning for the Warriors, who were the visiting team on the scoreboard and batted first. Brady Renck delivered a single to right, then advanced to second when Simon Reid was hit in the foot with a pitch. Jeremiah Canada was serving as a courtesy runner for Reid when a wild pitch moved both runners up one base. When Thomas Rudinsky walked, the Warriors had the bases loaded.
 
That brought up Josh Rego who's single to center field drove in the first Warrior run and left the bases fully occupied for Parker O'Neil. O'Neil also single to center, driving in Canada. When the throw to the plate got away from the Pioneers' catcher, Rudinsky also scored on the play while Rego took third and O'Neil moved to second.
 
One out later, Paul Mezurashi became the second Warriors slugger to be hit by a pitch, reloading the bases. Then Ryan Desaegher picked up a painful RBI when he was also hit by a pitch, resulting in a 4-0 Warrior lead.
 
Antelope Valley starter Kyle Poapst gave way to Avery Rivera before the Warriors' lineup turned over to lead-off hitter Robbie Haw. A single to right field by Haw drove in two more and left men on second and third. Renck then made his second appearance of the initial inning and doubled down the right field line to drive in two more runs and give Westmont an 8-0 advantage.
 
"What the early production told me as the coach is that these guys are up for the challenge," said Ruiz. "They were ready to play today. They were not going to back down and we were going to do everything we could to give ourselves a chance to go win this tournament."
 
However, after the early offensive production, the Warriors were held scoreless for the next five innings.
 
"We got shut out for about four or five innings, but we had a pitcher on the mound that did the same in return," said Ruiz, referring to Bradly Heacock. The right-hander pitched seven and one-third innings, allowing just six hits, striking out five and walking no one.
 
"If Brad wasn't as good as he was, Antelope Valley had a five inning stretch that they could have chipped their way back into that game," noted Ruiz. "Brad was the best version of himself today. I was glad that the ball was in his hands. I had nothing but confidence in his ability to get the job done.
 
"He is a guy that we have counted on countless times this year. He took control of the game right out of the gate and never looked back. They hit him around a little bit, but he pitched through it and his stuff got better as his outing went on. He was fantastic. We needed a good start in an important championship game. He came out with the right mentality, set the tone and never looked back."
 
Westmont extended its advantage in the top of the sixth when O'Neil powered a ball past third base for his fourth hit of the day. The RBI-double drove in Rudinsky who had reached on an infield single before stealing second.
 
The final three runs for the Warriors came in the seventh inning. With one away, Haw and Renck produced back-to-back singles before Reid was issued a free pass to load the bases. When Rudinsky doubled down the left field line, Renck and Haw scored as Canada, running for Reid, reached third. O'Neil would later provide a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Canada.
 
"One of the things that stands out to me about this team is that there is an incredible amount of trust in our program," explained Ruiz. "The players trust each other, the coaches trust each other and the players and coaches have a reciprocal trust with each other.
 
"I think that is imperative to being successful in any organization, but especially on a team that has to deal with the adversity that baseball brings. They made a unique commitment to not settling, or not always being a soft place to land for their teammates, but challenging and pushing each other to be better.
 
"We spent some time talking about watching other teams dogpile on our field and what that means, how it feels at the end of a season, and we did not want to go through that again. It wasn't always comfortable or easy, but their willingness to hold each other accountable and not get their feelings hurt is one of the defining things about this team."
 
"If we really trust and care about each other, that is our responsibility to each other. Our players are hard workers, they didn't complain and they didn't take things personally. They did what it took to play this week.
 
"It is incredibly meaningful to take this next step. I can remember 10 years ago when just getting into a GSAC Tournament was a big deal. Then, getting into our first national tournament opening round in 2014 felt like a national championship because it was not something we had experienced.
 
"When I reflected on the significance of this moment today, I remembered a lot of that. So many memories flooded my mind in that ninth inning. I thought about the groups of players that believed in us when we didn't have a lot to hang our hats on. I thought of some of those crazy, significant moments like winning our way into the GSAC Tournament back in 2012. Mitch Crocker won three games in 24 hours. Those were massive celebrations at the time. We always talked about what we were building, and it was always something so much bigger, at least that was our vision.
 
"So, to get to this point where we have been in a handful of opening rounds and left the field disappointed, for our players and our programs to finally get to experience the World Series, I am beside myself. I am as proud as I have ever been of our program. The number of alumni that have reached out or were at the game or were watching; the text messages and emails and phone calls flooding in – it's just a nice reminder that we have built something here at Westmont that is special. We always talk about being a big family, but to see the way people have come back around this, you realize we are all still connected. It means as much to the decades of players that came before them as it does to the players who earned it on the field this year."
 
Four other teams also won their brackets on Wednesday. Georgia Gwinnett won the Lawrenceville Bracket and Faulkner (Ala.) won the Montgomery Bracket. Mid-America Nazarene (Kan.) won the Oklahoma City Bracket and Southeaster (Fla.) was the champion of the Upland Bracket. The five remaining Opening Round Tournaments should conclude tomorrow.
 
By Friday, the Warriors should learn both their seeding and their first round opponent in the World Series.